A particularly large incoming freshman class has magnified a problem AU faces each fall semester: students living in tripled rooms.
"I wasn't expecting [AU] to put me in a triple," said Libby Smith, a freshman in the School of International Service. "And if they did, I expected to make a fuss about it and be in a double."
According to the Office of Admissions, 1,482 freshmen were enrolled for this year's fall semester, 157 more than the university. Approximately 621 of those students have been placed in temporarily tripled residences.
"[Smith and I] thought we had been detripled at one point," said Valerie Goldman, Smith's roommate and a freshman in SIS.
"Our third roommate said that she wasn't going to AU anymore," Smith added.
Upon hearing the news, Smith set out to buy various dorm room necessities, such as closet organizers and under-the-bed storage containers. Only later did she discover, through a phone call from Goldman, that they had been assigned a triple once again.
Many of the organizers Smith bought are now useless.
"I don't have an under-the-bed, or, really, a closet now," she said.
Instead, Smith situates both a desk and a dresser beneath her bed, which hovers a mere two feet below the ceiling. Goldman's bookshelf stands balanced between Smith's desk and her own, while two bunk beds run perpendicular to their farthest closet.
"[The arrangement] just sucks because the room's split in two," said Kelsey Brasher, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs. "It's perfect for two people, [but with three] we're sharing closet space. That's the worst part."
Dividing dorm space among roommates appears to be the greatest and only concern of students forced into a tripled living situation. Some said they view the experience as a positive one that allows for more socializing.
"It didn't really bother me at all," said Nick Cavallor, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business. "It was just one more person you got to meet."
Collin King, Cavallor's roommate and a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, agreed.
"It could have been really bad depending upon who the roommates were," he said. "But we're all really cool."
In addition to meeting new people, tripled dorms also offer students a reduction in room and board costs. While a double costs students $3,675 per semester, a triple only costs $2,685 per semester, according to the Office of Housing and Dining Web site.
To some, the price break is welcome.
"It was nice to tell my parents that we saved 900-something dollars a semester because I have slightly less space," said Siram Coalter, a freshman in SIS.
To other students, however, the money saved does not provide enough consolation.
"My parents are paying for it, but I guess it's nice," Brasher said. "I'd still rather have the space, I think, than save the money."
Paul Lynch, assistant director of housing operations, recently e-mailed all tripled students informing them as to how and when detripling will take place. The process, he wrote, will be completed by spring semester.
Tripled students have the option of deciding who will leave. If a decision cannot be made, the student who deposited his or her money last will be asked to move out.
The students, of course, have the choice to refrain from detripling.
"I'd rather be in a double," Brasher said. "But ... I like the girls, so I'll probably stay here"
